French fruit supplier Compagnie Fruitière has announced it has two new minority investors in agri-finance firm Unigrains and investment bank Crédit Agricole.

French investment group Société Générale Capital Partenaires is also on board as co-investor as the company prepares for future growth, following its split from Dole last year.

Marseille-based Compagnie Fruitière, which has a turnover of over €700m, has a majority holder in its founding family.

A company statement said: “Thanks to this investment, Compagnie Fruitière has acquired the means to pursue and finance ambitious and proactive growth after withdrawing the American-based Dole Food Company from its capital in May 2014.”

“Unigrains is delighted to support Compagnie Fruitière in its international investment programme,” said Didier Bosc, investment and development director at Unigrains. “This fantastic French ETI has been led for 75 years by the founding family and is established and recognised in West Africa in the field of agricultural production, transportation and logistics of fruits.”

Associate director at IDIA Capital Investissement (IDIA), part of Crédit Agricole, Arnaud Pradier, said: “We were won over by a resilient business model based on the total control of the fruit chain with a strong presence in production.

“Compagnie Fruitière also proposed to us an ambitious business plan based on the development and deepening of the synergies between the various business areas.”

The company is the leading producer of bananas and pineapples in the ACP zone (African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States), as well as importing a range of other fruit.

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